****
"He. Did. What?!"
"Shay, calm down. I'm going to have a little talk with him." Frank insisted.
"You talk all you want to, IceMan..." she trailed off angrily and turned away from him.
He read that look in her eye - the one that said 'go to hell in a hand basket, baby'. He would have to keep her away from Jake when he got here. "Shay, you stay out of this."
She heard the commanding tone of his voice and knew this was her boss speaking to her and not her husband. Showing him the respect he deserved she agreed to keep her mouth shut. "While I'm on duty, I will behave as you wish, SIR," she spat out irritably.
"Don't take this out on me, Agent Donovan. I'm just as angry as you. Frankie is..."
"My sister," Shay finished. "And I'll be damned if I'll play like this doesn't hurt like hell." She was silent for a moment before she said, "I know first hand how it feels when your husband cheats on you."
Frank strode toward her and took her by the shoulders. "How many times..."
She placed two fingers over his lips to shush him. "Let me finish. No, you did not actually cheat on me...but there was that moment...that brief moment that I was lead to believe you had. You were with another woman and I believe you that nothing happened...but it doesn't erase the initial heartache and betrayal I felt when I was under the assumption that you had."
"Ash..." he whispered pulling her tightly into his embrace. "I've said it, I don't know how many times...I'm sorry you had to go through that."
She hiccuped against his chest. "It's nothing compared to what Frankie will feel...so..."
"So?"
Before she could answer the outside door opened and they heard Alex yelling for Frank. They could also tell she was forcibly pushing Jake into the room. Without thinking, Frank released his hold on Shay and turned to face them.
When Alex entered the room with Jake, she ushered him to stand in front of Frank and Shay. "Here's the little turd."
"Alex!" Jake protested. "Listen..."
"Listen?" Shay questioned as she moved to stand in front of him. "I'm listening, you low-life, mealy-mouthed, man-whore." Without thought or hesitation she grabbed him by the shoulders and lifted her knee violently, smashing into his groin. When he cried out and started to double over in agonized pain, she hauled off and backhanded him across the face sending him to the floor.
As Jake lay writhing in pain on the floor, clutching his jewels, Frank barked at Alex to go get an ice pack. "Jesus Christ, Donovan! It would have been nicer if you'd just shot him..."
"And he fucking deserves every moment of pain!" she screamed and ran off to the break room.
Frank shook his head and knelt beside Jake. "I don't know how to get you out of this mess, Jake."
Jake's response was a pitiful squeak.
****